By Charles R. Swindoll
In essence, God said to Elijah, "You need to get out of the spotlight. You need to come up in the mountains, alone with Me, where you can hear My voice clearly. We need more time together, Elijah, and you need more training."
The good news is this: Without one moment's hesitation, Elijah obeyed. He didn't even ask why.
"So he went and did according to the word of the Lord, for he went and lived by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan" (
1 Kings 17:5). Notice the wording here. He went and lived by the brook Cherith. It's one thing to take a day trip off the beaten track, or to go camping for a weekend, or even to spend two or three weeks backpacking in the wilderness. Such adventures offer all the delights of being away from the cares of the real world for a time, even as you have the comfort of knowing that your lifeline to civilization is still there. It's quite another thing to live in the wilderness, alone, for an extended time. But that's exactly what Elijah did for months, possibly the better part of a year. God said, "Go there. Settle there. Live there." And that's what Elijah did.
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Would you accept such an assignment from God with such immediate obedience? How many of us would say nothing except, "Yes, Sir. I trust You completely. I don't need the spotlight to survive." Or do we enjoy only comfortable and active Christianity?
While there is certainly nothing wrong with being a leader or fulfilling the role of spokesman for God, how easy it is to become addicted to the public forum, or to feel that we are indispensable to God's plan. How easy to neglect, ignore or overlook those occasions when we need to pull back, regroup, rethink and renew our souls.
Elijah's Response
Whether in the palace or in private, Elijah was ready to serve His Lord. Whether in the spotlight or in silence, he was satisfied to be lost in the secrecy of the quiet hills beside a brook east of the Jordan. And there, God supplied his needs.
"And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he would drink from the brook" (
1 Kings 17:6). What an incredible experience that must have been! A bit of bread and meat in the morning, another small sandwich in the evening, and throughout the day the cool, refreshing water from the brook. If you've ever traveled in Israel and the area across the Jordan, you know how precious water is in that land at any time, let alone during a time of drought. Yet God provided His prophet with a fresh, trickling brook of water. Any time he wanted to, he could get down on his belly and cup his hands around that cool, sweet water of life in that dry and thirsty land.
But we can't always live by the bubbling brook. This is not Fantasyland, remember; this is hard-core boot camp. Times of extensive training and intense testing are required courses in God's character-building curriculum.